DHL expands European parcel network to include Hungary and Slovenia

Co-operation with the Slovenian Pošta Slovenije and the Hungarian Magyar Posta strengthens the cross-border e-commerce market and expands the range of services.
Shorter conveyance times, Saturday delivery and a uniform service standard offer recipients and senders added value.

Bonn, September 22, 2016: DHL Parcel Europe, the Slovenian Pošta Slovenije and the Hungarian Magyar Posta are co-operating in order to now provide a common business-to-consumer infrastructure for parcel delivery in a growing number of European countries. Launched in September the partnership extends DHL Parcel Europe’s network for cross-border e-commerce by two additional countries. This expansion is in line with DHL’s strategy to accelerate the development of the European e-commerce market and to offer customers the best-developed infrastructure. DHL Parcel Europe is thus expanding its network, which is based upon defined DHL standards, to a total of eighteen European e-commerce markets. Online traders can now use a harmonized network infrastructure with expanded and standardized services for all these markets.

“After having established ourselves successfully within one year in the Austrian parcel market, the expansion of our network to the economically closely related countries Hungary and Slovenia was natural. Together with our local partners, we also want to support online traders with their business in these markets. At the same time we offer our customers in the rest of Europe an attractive opportunity to offer their products across borders in an increasing number of markets”, explains Achim Dünnwald, CEO of DHL Parcel Europe.

Through this new partnership with the Slovenian and Hungarian postal services DHL Parcel Europe wants to specifically support the e-commerce growth in the two countries and to use the resulting potential for cross-border trade. According to the latest information from the European Commission, by 2020 the e-commerce market in Hungary is expected to grow by 36% and by around 53% in Slovenia.

For the co-operation, DHL Parcel Connect has been defined as a service standard for cross-border B2C deliveries. Online traders can therefore rely on the already high, and now further optimized quality they know from DHL Parcel Europe for deliveries to the two countries. Saturday delivery and standardized processes will in future therefore shorten delivery and return times. In addition to the new service standard and Saturday delivery, the partners will be introducing a service informing recipients of their orders’ expected delivery time and date, and a customer-friendly returns solution.

“Reliable and flexible logistics is an essential prerequisite for successful online trading”, adds Achim Dünnwald. “Together with our partners we now provide the necessary infrastructure and the right services in Hungary and Slovenia. With the extended network and our high service standards we are laying the foundations for a genuine European e-commerce landscape.”

After successfully integrating the Benelux countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Sweden, France, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with the current expansion in Hungary and Slovenia and the German domestic market, DHL Parcel Europe’s network now covers eighteen countries, after only two years. As part of Deutsche Post DHL Group’s Strategy 2020, DHL Parcel Europe is continuously examining all attractive and relevant markets in Europe in order to advance DHL’s business in Europe.